Leslie Caron wore this gown designed by Walter Plunkett and Helen Rose for 1955's The Glass Slipper. From Gene London's Hollywood Collection/Photo by Patricia Leslie at the 2015 Philadelphia Flower Show
The theme at this year's 2015 Philadelphia International Flower Show (to see at least one year before you die) is "Lights, Camera, Bloom!" as in Hollywood, and what better place to show off some of Gene London's collection of 60,000 costumes than the show which captured international honors as "the best event in the world" (International Festivals & Events Association)? If you missed it, there's next year! A docent said London's collection travels the world, but he has no museum to display costumes. She said everyone admires the tiny waistlines on display, and the gowns.
Audrey Hepburn wore these two Cecil Beaton gowns in 1964's My Fair Lady. From Gene London's Hollywood Collection/Photo by Patricia Leslie at the 2015 Philadelphia Flower Show
Elizabeth Taylor wore this Halston at the 1972 Academy Awards presentation. The label below the gown says Ms. Taylor flew the designer out to Hollywood where he created this for her in three days. From Gene London's Hollywood Collection/Photo by Patricia Leslie at the 2015 Philadelphia Flower Show
Bette Davis wore this Nolan Miller gown when she received a Lifetime Achievement Award at Spain's San Sebastian Film Festival in 1989. Too weak from illness to make it back to the U.S., Ms. Davis, 81, died soon afterwards in France. From Gene London's Hollywood Collection/Photo by Patricia Leslie at the 2015 Philadelphia Flower Show
The crowd at the Gene London Hollywood Collection exhibition at the 2015 Philadelphia Flower Show/Photo by Patricia Leslie 
Tallulah Bankhead was Catherine the Great in The Royal Scandal in 1945 and wore this gown designed by Rene Hubert. From Gene London's Hollywood Collection/Photo by Patricia Leslie at the 2015 Philadelphia Flower Show
Tallulah Bankhead and James Stewart in The Royal Scandal from 1945. (See gown above.) From Gene London's Hollywood Collection/Photo by Patricia Leslie at the 2015 Philadelphia Flower Show
In 1939's Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, Bette Davis played the queen in this Orry Kelly creation. From Gene London's Hollywood Collection/Photo by Patricia Leslie at the 2015 Philadelphia Flower Show
Lana Turner was "Samarra" and a size 3 in this scandalous-at-the-time Herschel creation for The Prodigal in 1955. From Gene London's Hollywood Collection/Photo by Patricia Leslie at the 2015 Philadelphia Flower Show
The Marilyn Monroe collection from Gene London's Hollywood Collection/Photo by Patricia Leslie at the 2015 Philadelphia Flower Show
At Gene London's Hollywood Collection exhibition at the 2015 Philadelphia Flower Show/Photo by Patricia Leslie 
This is a replica of a gown worn by Scarlett O'Hara (Vivian Leigh) in 1939's Gone with the Wind. From Gene London's Hollywood Collection/Photo by Patricia Leslie at the 2015 Philadelphia Flower Show
In the classic stairwell scene in Gone with the Wind, Miss Scarlett (Vivian Leigh) wore this gown when Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) carried her upstairs. From Gene London's Hollywood Collection/Photo by Patricia Leslie at the 2015 Philadelphia Flower Show
Gene London's Gone with the Wind Collection at the 2015 Philadelphia Flower Show/Photo by Patricia Leslie 
At Gene London's Hollywood Collection exhibition at the 2015 Philadelphia Flower Show/Photo by Patricia Leslie 
Gene London, the collector, at his Hollywood Collection exhibition at the 2015 Philadelphia Flower Show/Photo by Patricia Leslie
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